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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230902">Don't Forget</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageofsimping/pseuds/sageofsimping'>sageofsimping</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Dream Team SMP Setting (Video Blogging RPF), Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Dream Team SMP Spoilers, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Immortality, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Memory Loss, Mind Manipulation, Minor Violence, Post-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Religious Imagery &amp; Symbolism, Time Travel, War, Web Series: Tales from the SMP</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:55:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230902</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageofsimping/pseuds/sageofsimping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“What the- “Karl started, ducking through the hole, standing up straight in the roomy space. The walls were decorated with shelves upon shelves of books, a single lantern dangling from a rusted chain, swaying from side to side. Across the room from him, pressed against the wall was a dusty wooden ladder.</p><p>Slowly, Karl made his way through the room, his eyes scanning the books, all of them void of titles. He brushed his fingers against the rough leather spines, cocking his head to the side as he plucked on from its spot.</p><p>He creaked open the book, careful to not ruin the old material.</p><p>“Tales from the SMP,” He read the first page out loud. The words seemed strangely familiar, ones that he had read before from somewhere.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexis | Quackity &amp; Karl Jacobs &amp; Sapnap, Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Once Upon A Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wanted to preface this by saying that this story is inspired by the Tales from the SMP series, but it is not entirely accurate to the current canon plot. I am taking a lot of creative liberties to create my own story, and if most things don't line up with the canon, that is because my story has been planned in its entirety already and I have no plans of changing course!</p><p>This story also has no ships in it!! Just thought that was important to add. Other than canon relationships (aka Karl, Quackity, and Sapnap), all relationships tagged are platonic and are not meant to be romantic. </p><p>Hope you enjoy!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Swirls of rosy and coral hues filled the skies, signaling that it was time to settle like the air was, creating a comfortable momentary silence across the server that would soon be disrupted by the cacophonous rattle of bones and hisses that would inevitably end with flashes of worrisome light and the addition of new dirt pits that would one day need to be filled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time, as the sun faded behind the leaves before whispering its final goodnight, its somber counterpart taking up its position on guard over the world, was the most peaceful to Karl. A welcome distraction from the rambunctious wartime of the day, usually void of any lingering hard feelings between the factions. He found himself drawn to the sky, pressing his palms to the soft, damp grass as he laid back to trace his eyes over the swirls, memorizing their nature and how they mimicked the aqua whorl on his own sweater.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A time like this, free of all worries, was just what he needed after the day he just had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Quackity had greeted Karl as he logged on, his voice void of his normal upbeat and carefree attitude, instead replaced with a hesitant warning. Karl hadn’t been around for a few days, ever since the war, he was reluctant to return to review the damages. Tales spread, though, so he wasn’t completely unaware of the reconstruction occurring just within view from his house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you spoken to George recently?” Big Q questioned, nervously placing and breaking a block of dirt he held onto. It seemed to calm him, for what reason, Karl had no clue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head, “No, I haven’t been around for the past few days. Haven’t seen him since he became king.” Quackity just sighed in response, his eyes quickly jetting from left to right, a paranoid glint shimmering in his gaze as he gestured subtly with his hand for them to move from the wooden path they stood on and into Karl’s house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Quackity, what’s wrong?” Karl asked, his word laced with sincere concern. “Is George okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s fine.” He paused, placing the block a few more times as he opened his mouth several times, the words just not working their way from his throat. “And he’s not fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from his chest, one of disbelief and confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Way to clear things up</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a long struggle with his words, he tried again, “So, he’s fine, like he’s not hurt. But last night, me and him were just kind of messing around together and Dream came up to us and he had Eret with him, which I thought was weird, because like, wasn’t that the guy you kicked out to put George as king?” Quackity rambled, sucking in a deep, well-needed breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, so they were both standing there, and then Dream was like, ‘hey George, guess what, you aren’t king anymore, Eret is.’ Which, again, I thought was weird because he just dethroned him, but I guess Dream always has his reasons.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait- “Karl interrupted, his head cocking to the side. “So, George isn’t king anymore?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nope, he got kicked out last night. Said it was ‘for his own protection’ but I’m not entirely sure about that.” Quackity added the quotation marks on his own, sneaking in a sly eye roll at the end of his statement. George had only been king for like what a week? Maybe two? And he hadn’t known of anything wrong he had done, in fact, George had spent a lot of time ranting under the stars with him and Sapnap about all the plans he had to improve the Greater Dream SMP area; builds and clean-up, laws with enforcement. An actual government. He mused about it for hours, finally excited to have something bigger than him, he had said. And now, it was gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh god, he must’ve been crushed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to find George.” Karl finally declared, opening the bag the slung over his chest, his hand digging around to recall how much food he retained in his pockets after his last journey on the server. When his hand returned empty, a huff of air masquerading as laughter left his throat. He turned to his chests, flicking the lid open, and retrieving a bundle of cooked potatoes. As he stuffed the warm food deep in the messenger bag, Quackity placed the dirt block in front of himself, this time leaving it to sit at his feet, defiantly looking up towards Karl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I know where he’s at,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, with a harsh shove of the wooden doors to Karl’s house, which resulted in a jolted shoulder and a few muttered words of regret, the two friends were making their way down the wide wooden path that connected the server, a symbolic olive branch extended throughout the warring countries. His feet hit the ground with a dull thump as they brushed past the dirt tunnel, his fingers brushing against the soft soil as his eyes laid sight on the jagged land, evidence of the terrible events that transpired just a week prior, now with an elevated spruce city decorated with the familiar red, blue, and yellow in the form of banners and lanterns. It was beautiful, a monument to community and teamwork.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Quackity dug his elbow into Karl’s side, vying for his attention to point towards their friend who stood on a new dirt platform meters above the ground. When did that get there? He voiced his question to Big Q, listening to his careful explanation, the giddiness returning to his words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me and George were building that together last night before…” he paused, brushing over the rest of the sentence. “Anyway, we decided to call it ‘El Rapids’, it’s a new country.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s just dirt,” Karl giggled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For now!” He defended, glaring at him slightly. The two laughed together, brushing off the statements thrown around. They approached quietly, Karl’s eyes following the cascading water that flowed from the side of the platform, pooling in the existing oasis at the base of the mountain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed nice. A little basic, but unique. He could see it growing; existing as a neutral ground between the warring countries of L’manberg and the Greater Dream SMP.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He kicked his feet against the dirt as him and Quackity climbed up the expansive dirt staircase, making their way towards the clouds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“George?” Quackity said as they made it to the top, both boys peering worriedly at their friend who stared out onto the sky. George sat on the edge of the country, his feet dangling off the dirt. His goggles had been shoved off his head, placed carefully in the soil next to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to talk about it,” George answered, not bothering to look behind him towards the pair. Karl exchanged a quick glance with Quackity before taking a seat next to his friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to talk about it.” Karl offered, “We can just talk about this place. It’s called El Rapids, you said?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he mumbled, “Quackity named it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a good name. What’re you planning on building up here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>George’s lips curled into a small smile, “Oh, we were thinking a- “</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“May I have a moment alone with George?” The statement seemed to appear out of thin air, the sudden addition of a fourth voice managing to jolt all of them. Karl turned his head to peer upon the cracked and stained stone mask. A stoic face with a carved grin, shielding everything but piercing emerald eyes that looked back at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream sat perched on top of a stone pillar, his long legs crossed with the toe of his thick black combat boots tapping against the face of the block. His hands rest against his knees, one flexing as he tightened it into a fist repeatedly and the other clutching the smooth green orb that caused his appearance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dream, I don’t want to talk to you,” George muttered, pushing himself off the ground to stand his ground, straightening his back and holding his head high to appear as tall as possible in front of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just for a- “</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“George, seriously, stop acting like a child.” Dream huffed, brushing the green material draped over his shoulder back, reaching his hand to the satchel that rested against his hip to put the ender pearls away carefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl exchanged a quick glance with Quackity, both of them silently agreeing that, yes, they were definitely intruding on something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Should we- “Karl started, Dream quickly interrupting his offer with a request of his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Could you two go grab some coal for me?” He knew it was an empty request, just an excuse to speak with George alone, but still, Karl grabbed Quackity’s arm, dragging him behind him as he scurried off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even once the two reached the ground level they could faintly hear their voices, the defensive and unpleasant tone carrying through the wind. Karl let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, a nervous chuckle leaving his chest as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We better leave them alone for a bit,” he suggested, removing his hand from his friend’s arm. Quackity nodded, muttering something about catching up with later before rushing off towards the rebuilt city behind them. With a sigh, Karl glanced around, unaware of things to do to occupy his time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Grab some coal for me?</span>
  </em>
  <span> The words returned to his head as he sighed. He might as well. His hand reached for his pickaxe as he meandered down the jagged path. Parts of the wood had been caught in the explosion from earlier that week, causing gaps and wounds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Very symbolic of the history from the server.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he traversed the ruins, he swung the tool next to his side. When he was there, feeling the heat of the blast against his skin, it was like time slowed down. Rather than fear, he felt nothing but guilt. Like, there was something he could do, something to change the course of the war. The course of the whole server.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he can’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, now, he’s stuck, watching as his friends pick up the pieces of their shattered legacy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl reached the end of the path, his feet perched at the edge of the crater, staring down into it. He would have to climb down to reach new areas, previously unmined. His hand pressed against the stone as he dropped to a lower level, carefully navigating the hole to reach the bottom. Karl’s feet hit the ground with a soft thud, sending shocks through his legs. He pressed his brows together, his hand tightening around the handle of the pickaxe as he looked around, trying to find a vein of coal in the vast expanse of shattered stone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a huff, he resigned, decided that it would be best if he just began mining into the stone. A couple of swings and the rocks were shattering beneath the head of the tool. He worked through the stone with ease, pressing forward into the wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the dark swallowed him, he continued to break the stone before him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the final swing of his pickaxe, Karl punctured the earth, the stone beneath the head of his glimmering tool shattering. Suddenly, from the cracked stone, light pouring into the tunnel around him, making his eyes ache from the quick change.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He winced, shielding his eyes from the glow. Karl pressed his hand into the stone, brushing aside the broken bits to reveal a lit cave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the- “Karl started, ducking through the hole, standing up straight in the roomy space. The walls were decorated with shelves upon shelves of books, a single lantern dangling from a rusted chain, swaying from side to side. Across the room from him, pressed against the wall was a dusty wooden ladder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, Karl made his way through the room, his eyes scanning the books, all of them void of titles. He brushed his fingers against the rough leather spines, cocking his head to the side as he plucked on from its spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He creaked open the book, careful to not ruin the old material.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tales from the SMP,” He read the first page out loud. The words seemed strangely familiar, ones that he had read before from somewhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He carefully flipped the page, only to see that the rest of the aged papers were blank.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl turned his attention back to the ascending rungs. He made his way to them, still looking around at the books as he slowly climbed the ladder. He emerged into another room, a room lit not by lantern, but by a humming, pulsating light.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The wall seemed to be replaced with twirling colors, lighting the room similarly to how the portal that connects the overworld and the Nether does.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An aqua and violet swirl filled Karl’s eyes, mimicking the color and design from his sweater, like it was made for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He drew closer, reaching a hand extended out to touch the light, a force drawing him forward towards the hypnotic swirl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a gasp, he stumbled, his eyes squeezing shut as a chill overcame him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karl cracked his eyes open, the sun out above him, shining down upon him. He stood, his toes pressed into the grass, grounding him as he looked around. The wooden path before him, connecting everything from the far reaches of the castle all the way to the run-down cave where Wilbur and Tommy took refuge during their exile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the honk?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Where was he?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Where Is This?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hope you enjoy this chapter! xx</p>
<p>btw the chapter names are all kingdom hearts songs so i thought that would be cool :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“What the honk?” Karl muttered, his chest pounding. How did he get here? Last he knew he was down in that cave, looking at the…</span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Portal?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but he knew it probably wasn’t safe.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the distance, he sees Quackity standing atop a hill, overlooking the city ruins, a dirt block in his hands. He placed it and then immediately broke it. Similar to what he was doing before he and Karl had spoken last. It made Karl smile the faintest bit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quackity had explained in the past that doing things kept his mind from wandering, kept him from worrying excessively. It kept him in the present, instead of worrying of the irreversible past and the inevitable future.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sometimes if he saw that his fiancé was beginning to go down the rabbit hole, he would ask him to grab something from his chests that he knew weren’t there, just to keep him busy with looking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Quackity!” Karl called out, drawing his attention away from the dirt next to him. His friend furrowed his brows, lifting himself off from the ground and slowly walked over to Karl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t see you log on?” He said as he approached, “Not that I’m not excited to see you,” Quackity quickly defended, giving Karl a loving smile. He laughed, glancing down at the block in his fiancé’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s on your mind? I can tell you’re focusing too hard again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Big Q breathed out, glancing off towards the ruins again. Towards El Rapids. “Last night, something happened with George.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl frowned, his stomach turning. Did Quackity forget that they already talked about this? That they had gone to El Rapids to find George before leaving for Dream and him to discuss the past night’s events.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Um… Yeah, I know.” Karl said, his words perking with confusion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you know? You haven’t been here in like a week?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We talked about it?” He responded, narrowing his eyes on Quackity’s face. The pair went silent as they glared at each other before Quackity placed the dirt block again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We haven’t spoken since the war, Karl.” He voiced; his words were laced with concern. “Are you sure you aren’t just thinking about a dream?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The whole thing felt so real to Karl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He remembered the feeling of dirt under his shoes as he climbed up to El Rapids, he remembered tugging Quackity away, remembered the words he heard shouted between George and Dream ringing through his ears. He remembered the stone shards flying around him as he dug. He remembered the light. He remembered the words painted in thick black ink across aged parchment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He… They felt familiar. It all felt familiar. The mesmerizing swirl of colors, the hues flashing almost as if it was speaking to him through morse code, blinking out,</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Come closer, you know you want to.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Karl admitted, “Must be.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was going to have to keep this one to himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quackity’s face settled, seeming to have calmed at Karl’s announcement. He lifted the block back from his feet, holding it against his chest as he stared at Karl for a moment. When his attention broke, his frown returned as he glanced behind him towards El Rapids once more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“George. Right.” He started, “Me and George were messing around, just kind of building something, and it was going great. But then like, Dream came up to us and he had Eret with him. Which was weird because, like, didn’t Dream just dethrone the guy? Right?” He stopped, forcing himself to suck in a breath big enough to finish his story in one go.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway, Eret is there. And Dream tells George, ‘Oh you aren’t king anymore, I’m making Eret king again.’ And I was like, make up your mind, Dream. Is Eret a good king or not? Because it seemed like about a week ago you didn’t want him to be king.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl listened carefully, ignoring the subtle tug in his chest that reiterated that he already knew this information. The question was, </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where is he?” Karl asked, his eyes unconsciously flitting towards the dirt city in the distance. “He probably needs us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I know where he is, come with me.” Quackity said, tugging Karl onto the prime path. The wood clicked beneath their shoes, echoing in familiarity. He remembered that sound.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl’s hand twitched at his sides, unnerved by his own observation. He clenched his sore fingers into a fist, as he cleared the anxious knot from his throat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Q?” He questioned quietly, averting his eyes towards the crater before them. “Have you ever… Felt like you’ve been somewhere before?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What does that mean?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like, I feel like I’ve been here before. Not, in this place. But here in this,” he paused, the words fighting to hide inside his head. “This moment.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quackity slowed his walking, watching as his fiancé continued forward in front of him. The air around them grew tense with the palpable concern that leaked from Quackity’s eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” He asked, “You’ve been acting so weird lately. And now you’re like…” Quackity gestured vaguely, letting out a huff. Karl cringed, his heart pounding as he looked back at his flustered friend. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought it up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m,” He took a deep breath. “I’m fine. I think I’m just having déjà vu.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The silence between them returned, laced with tension that neither boys dared to touch. The only noise between them was the continued click of their feet against the oak wood beneath their feet. Karl felt strange, keeping something like this from his partner, but the minute the thought crossed his mind of sharing it, he felt sick.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t even know exactly what it was, so how was he supposed to share it?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quackity gestured off towards the dirt city, a small smile gracing his stoic expression, “That’s El Rapids. A new country me and George made last night.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nice,” Karl commented, smiling back toward his fiancé, peering up to see George’s frame perched calming where it had been the last time they journeyed there together. “He’s up there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he sighed, tugging Karl’s arm to make them speed up as they approached the dirt hill, they had to climb to make it to their friend. He clambered up the steep staircase, ignoring the familiar crunch of soil under his weight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Quackity made it to the top first, peering back at Karl for a split second before returning his attention to George.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“George,” he said calmly, his words full of concern and love.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to talk about last night, Quackity.” He heard the smaller boy mutter. As Karl moved closer, he sighed, taking a seat next to George at the edge of the land.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” He repeated his sentiment from the night before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The cold breeze brushed against Karl’s skin, making every hair on the back of his neck stick up, perked up to stand guard against what he knew was to happen next. Everything thus far had followed the same course; Quackity told him about George, they went to find him, they found him at El Rapids. If it were to continue that way, the next thing to happen would be-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dream,” Karl said loudly, tilting his head up to scan the horizon of the fallen city, the sun settling behind the trees with a rosy glow. He heard fabric shift behind him, a soft chuckle accompanying the noise.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He turned his eyes, tracing over the sculpted grin to lock contact with the obscured gaze, the faint shape of green irises staring back at him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How’d you know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl hesitates. He felt words catching in the back of his throat as they crept up into his head, the ones that told him that- for whatever reason- Dream </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I heard you,” Karl lied, the nerves lacing his words as he struggled to get them out. Suddenly, the emerald orbs his eyes were latched to, closed. He felt his stomach churn, he felt sick, like he was going to pass out and never wake up again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Dream’s eyes snapped open again, the green flickered brighter, an angry glow that Karl had only seen once before. As he watched the blade of a glowing axe cross in front of his face, making contact with the shield of the opposing side, the echoing sounds of war booming through his ears...</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He definitely knew.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” he heard, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Can I speak with you, Karl?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was different.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl tensed, his eyes widening as he felt his heart sink into his stomach. He let a reluctant nod answer the question as he pulled himself from George’s side, walking towards the looming figure. His fingers flexed at his side as he watched Dream jump down from the pillar, his feet landing just before Karl with a soft </span>
  <em>
    <span>thump</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dream led the shivering frame down the dirt staircase, the green cloak draped over his shoulders swinging in the breeze, like a carefree whisper. The tension around them held a different tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” Dream started bitterly, turning to face Karl once more, his eyes settling back into their normal green state. “How’ve you been?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh,” Karl stammered, the chill that settled in his neck scurrying down his spine. “Haven’t been around a lot. Not since that,” he managed, his eyes flicking towards the earth’s gaping wound where the city-state of L’manberg used to reside.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh-huh,” Dream hummed, looking off towards the city. “Find anything… Interesting, recently?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes filled with the violet swirl, a memory so familiar, yet so distant.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Not really.” The lie slipped from his lips, but his eyes darted towards the crater, where he dug to find the shelves full of books that needed to be filled, the room with the portal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Portal to where, he still wasn’t sure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dream’s gaze followed Karl’s, stuck on the destruction he had ultimately caused, where his TNT had once filled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” he hummed, “Well, I have to go talk to George.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl let out a soft sigh of relief as he nodded, giving a forced smile to his friend as he watched his fingers reach within his satchel, pulling a smooth ender pearl out. Their eyes locked once more before, with one smooth motion, the pearl was thrown up the stairs. A few seconds later, Dream was gone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a beat, Karl’s feet were pounding against the wood path, his legs moving faster than his mind could. His chest heaved as he bound off towards the wreckage, his eyes squeezed closed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He slid to a stop at the edge of the cliff, peering over the corner carefully before jumping down to a lower ledge, his legs shaking from the pressure. Right now, he didn’t care that his lungs burned or that his knees ached. He just needed to get to that room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As his shoes hit the stone at the bottom of the hole, his gaze locked on the intact stone around him. He slowly walked over, his hand pressing against the cold wall. He knew he broke through here.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl took a deep breath as he grabbed his pickaxe again, hoisting it over his head to bring it down in a frenzy. He just needed to get through.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>What was it that Dream knew about the portal that Karl didn’t? </span>
  <em>
    <span>How </span>
  </em>
  <span>did Dream know about the portal? As far as Karl was aware, no one had been down there since the creation of the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whoever it was that made the room, wrote those books. Any trace of them was gone now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he broke through the final block, his eyes welcomed the light from the familiar rusty lantern. He let out a relieved sigh, a laugh leaving his mouth as his fingers brushed against the same leather as before. Karl grinned, his hands plucking a different book, opening it to find that it, too, was empty.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tales from the SMP,” He repeated. The same words brushed onto the front page of every book he grabbed from the shelf. Why would the author title them like that if every page was waiting to be filled?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl replaced the books, turning back to the ladder, the same dusty and slightly splintered wood as before. He grasped the rungs, using them to hoist himself into the portal room, the hypnotic hum of hues filled his eyes, a strangely comforting sight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled to himself as he inched closer, his hand stretched out to feel the cold of the portal. Hopefully, everything would be fixed the moment he stepped in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He squeezed his eyes closed as he stepped forward, taking the last movement to enter the portal frame, letting the chill take over his body before he opened his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A stone room. A ladder. A portal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He hadn’t moved.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Karl stepped from the portal, his heart pounding as he stumbled back from it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Was it broken?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A small frown graced his lips before he resigned. He jumped down into the lower library area, his hand reaching for a book.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His fingers pressed into the leather before he grabbed a pen, flipping to the second page.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Scribbling across the page, he wrote,</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m not exactly sure what this is. All of these books are titled but the pages are blank. Like someone is supposed to fill them.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But with what, I’m not sure.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This is my second time in this room. This library, I guess. But it feels like it’s my first. The day repeated itself almost perfectly. The only thing that changed was Dream.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He seems to know about this place. I don’t know what he knows about it, how he knows about it, or why he cares so much about it. But I do believe I can’t tell him that I came back.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I feel like I was teleported through time.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I am going to try to go through again tomorrow, to see what happens, and I will report back what I learn.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I guess if I learn anything.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This whole place is pretty weird. But I feel connected to it, somehow. Like it was meant for me to find.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Signing off,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>K</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ahhhh i hope that this chapter wasn't too repetitive for you to read!! i know a lot of it was overlap with last chapter but again, i think it was important to the plot, and it was slightly different :)</p>
<p>please feel free to leave comments and criticisms i love hearing feedback on how i can make my things better for y'all!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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